That looks seriously cool, wouldn't really suit this bike but i'm going to keep my eyes open for a really old one now, just to suit that light lol.

I've sandblasted the cranks and there wasn't a speck of chrome left on them so i'm going to get in touch with Kunda Park Electroplating here on the sunshine coast to get them rechromed, i'll let you know how it goes. Next job is cleaning up the front wheel/hub to find any distinguishing markings, i might end up just using 27 x 1-1/4 wheels though, as it's something i'm familiar with and trust. In due course i'll remove the ye olde dynamo light and get the electrician at my work to see if it can be fixed.

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

sandblasted the rear wheel today, the hub (coaster brake) has a grease nipple in the middle and is marked 'Favourite', with what looks like a Z inside a circle, the reaction arm is marked PERRY made in england, and has 2 large stars. Any info on this brand?

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

ldrcycles wrote:just sandblasted the front wheel/hub to look for identifying markings, nothing on the rim but the hub is marked BAYLISS MADE IN ENGLAND. Any thoughts on these hubs?

Bayliss-Wiley made high quality steel bicycle parts from at least circa 1920 upto the mid 50's. I have a 'Victory' racer from the mid 30's which is totally Bayliss componant equipped.They also ventured into alloy hubs at some point I believe.CheersRichard

Thanks for that, i googled bayliss but only found pics of high flange alloy hubs so thought that this one being low flange, steel and only marked bayliss rather than bayliss-wiley, it may have been low end poor quality stuff they had put out.

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

Well there's been a BIG gap but i'm finally back into it now, i've got other bikes out of the way and i'm all fired up to (maybe) finish off the Healing, removed the forks this morning and pulled off the brakes and dynamo. Sandblasted the brake and dynamo mount (the 'bottle' of the dynamo appears to be alloy but the neck is a bit blistered like rust under chrome?) and gave the forks a good wash, the paint is too far gone though so definitely full strip and repaint.

Weird Brampton headset on it with millions of tiny loose balls, does anyone know if these headsets are still available? I'll get some pics up tomorrow hopefully, i might be able to reuse the headset with new balls (because i lost at least half of them ).

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

ldrcycles wrote:Weird Brampton headset on it with millions of tiny loose balls, does anyone know if these headsets are still available? I'll get some pics up tomorrow hopefully, i might be able to reuse the headset with new balls (because i lost at least half of them ).

I haven't found a source for the headsets(i could use a few) but there is usually 30 ball bearings per side if that helps.

I'm embarrassed at how long this has been sitting around, this post is really just to bump it a little higher up my list of posts so i don't lose it again. Since August i've done.....ah nothing at all. But after seeing a beautiful 1953 Malvern Star at the Noosa L'Eroica show n shine, i'm inspired to restore my Healing to absolute perfection. The next month or two i'm planning on just sourcing all the parts i need or restoring the originals if possible.

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

ldrcycles wrote:I'm embarrassed at how long this has been sitting around, this post is really just to bump it a little higher up my list of posts so i don't lose it again. Since August i've done.....ah nothing at all. But after seeing a beautiful 1953 Malvern Star at the Noosa L'Eroica show n shine, i'm inspired to restore my Healing to absolute perfection. The next month or two i'm planning on just sourcing all the parts i need or restoring the originals if possible.

Thanks for bumping it. It might inspire me too.I have a nice Healing covered in blue house paint. I also bought a coronation ladies malvern star at the same auction coverd in the same blue paint. It seems to be a certain aged man that thinks ..hmmm I'll sell these old bikes and just freshen them up first to be helpful House paint on everything will work!

BTW I have some Bayliss-Wiley low flange alloy hubs I laced to fiamme red labels which I currently ride with this bike. I estimate these are from the late '30s from knowing of the fellow whose wife gave them to me. They are absolutley smooth quality units and rare as hens teeth as far as I can find out.

Now i have some extra motivation for this project, a matching ladies bike! A few questions with that one, the front hub is marked 333 then a capital P in a circle, then 5353 and possibly a hand engraved 64 but that may be my eyes playing tricks. Any ideas what that may be?

It also has Austral cranks, so far i can't find any date codes on them, do they have any?

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

interesting thread, just picked up an incomplete Healing frame (bolt on rear from seat post to drop outs), those bolt on bits are missing as are the crank and handlebars.... if anyone is interested in the rest of the frame and fork drop us a PM for pics, probably let you have it for not much more than postage.....

Just an ol' man, riding an ol' bike.... every hill feels likeAlpe d'Heuz....

Personally, I'd love to see an old man of ethnic descent riding a brand new Colnago with the bars flipped up, wearing a kangol cap and a cardigan, with a pack rack and a milk crate on the back.

A bit OT but just the other day i saw a bloke in civvies riding an alloy GT road bike (brifters and all) with the bars flipped.

And there's an older bloke i see around Coolum fairly regularly on a full carbon GT (nice bit of gear) of ethnic descent, who always wears the same pair of shorts and t shirt.

Just bought the decals for the Healing (not the same as original but it will have to do, if i was to go for original the bike would have to wait and deteriorate for a few more years) and should have it off to the sandblasters for stripping and priming next week.

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

G'day moofish, welcome to the forum. Firstly, pics will help us all (when you are able) to help you First thing - is the frame a size that you could ride? Next, I'd assess the bike for safety - your health is the primary consideration! Is there any obvious damage (bent/cracked tubing, broken rear stays, rusted spokes, dodgy welding repairs, severe rust, etc) to the frame, handlebars, rims, running gear, etc? Do you know what its storage conditions have been like? Because 50+ years in a damp shed will cause internal rust that you might not see from the outside. Anyways, if you think it's at all unsafe and don't know much about bikes, you could ask (if you're in Melbourne) a knowledgeable/sympathetic-towards-old-bikes LBS like Abbotsford Cycles what their opinion is. Or a friendly forum member could perhaps check it out for you? Just be wary if they offer you ca$h for it on the spot

Once you've established it's sound, have a think about what you want to do with it. Full resto? Sympathetic clean and service? If the paint scheme is in good order then I would suggest not changing a thing. Clean it carefully and keep the patina, because you can only ruin an old bike once. Even a faded paintjob can look pretty interesting once a frame is cleaned and protected with something like beeswax. Only if its an absolute external mess would I consider re-painting it. Take lots of pics if you do. That's my opinion. And no powdercoat!!!!!!

The other thing to consider is the running gear and what you want from a bike. Eg is it single speed and you live in steep-hill-town? Are the brakes adequate to save your neck in an emergency braking situation? Do you want to convert from steel rims to alloy (for better braking and more tyre choice)? Then perhaps a sympathetic period upgrade of some parts is the next step. Save your coin and buy those bits.

So, the bike seems safe, will suit your needs and you have the parts you want. Then get it serviced at a sympathetic LBS (again, Abbotsford Cycles), or if you have the skills do it yourself. And get riding! Good luck with putting the Healing back on the road. Oh, the other thing is you will soon have a whole lot of other vintage bicycles to hide from friends, family, loved ones, etc. When the vintage bug bites, it bites deep ...

Thank you very much for your welcome. OK I have taken some photos but I cant work out how to post them. I got into mountain biking just under a year ago so I have almost no experience with bikes at all let alone restoring a vintage bike. But I am industrial sparky and I love to tinker with stuff and learn how stuff works. I love old engineering so I think this is a cool bike from that point of view. The bike has been hanging in a shed in rural South Oz so it wasnt in a museum but it was very dry. All the rust appears to be surface only. What I would like from the bike is just the fun of restoring something so nicely made and learning how to do it along the way. I can spray paint fairly well and I have started to learn pinstriping. So Im hoping its within my skillset to restore it. My rationale is that it was going in the scrap metal bin so even if I do a crappy job at least its still around. If all goes well I would love to ride it and if I put the seat down I can fit but I just want to rescue it. If its not too expensive I would like to keep it all period. The bottom bracket lug has 2436 stamped into it, does this refer to the age? My wifes uncle gave the bike to me after throwing it out in a clean up. He is 75 and says he had it in the thirties so I dont know how old it is. The headstem badge is not a chrome H it is a decal and it looks like it was put on before the lugs? odd The paintwork is pretty much shot but you can see the pinstriping and two tone paintwork would have looked cool. Even the wheels have handpainted pinstripes very cool. So thanks again for the welcome and any advice will be appreciated. Tomorrow I'll be going to the LBS to look for 28x1 3/8 Tyres and really long spokes!

Thanks for pics moofish. I'd have a guess and say this is actually a much older bicycle that has had a Healing repaint and decal job. In the past (I'm talking in grandpa's day) it was common to take in your old bicycle and have it "refreshed" in-house at your LBS. Those really squared-off headset lugs and horizontal cut-outs may be clue ... any chance of a pic of the rear-wheel dropouts? More clues there perhaps ...

Do these help?I loosened up the chain enough to turn the pedals. The coaster brake even works! Not bad considering it has been in a shed for 50 years!The question is is it best left as is for a museum piece lol or should I restore it. Of course i could just chuck it back in the scrap bin.(no I wouldnt)

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